Apparatus and method for stranding and packaging



March 5, 1963 H. BURR 3,079,747

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STRANDING AND PACKAGING Filed June 14, 1961 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. I.

INVENTOR.

HARVEY B U RR H. BURR 3,079,747

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STRANDING AND PACKAGING March 5, 1963 I5Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14, 1961 INVENTOR.

HARVEY BURR a? flr k akwm APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STRANDING ANDPACKAGING Filed June 14, 1961 H. BURR March 5, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR.

HARVEY BURR 3,d'i9,747 Patented Mar. 5, 1953 3,579,747 AFPARATUS ANDhlETHQD FER STRANBENG AND PACKAGING liarvey Burr, New Rochelle, NFL,assignor to Anaconda Wire and Cable Qompany Filed June 14, 1961, Ser.No. 117,138 8 Qlairns. (ill. 57-5857) My invention relates to apparatusand method for continuously twisting together a plurality of strands,and particularly to such apparatus and method wherein the strands aredeposited directly into a concentric-walled drum.

It has long been known to twist together elongated strands such asinsulated telephone wires to form twisted pairs and to take up thetwisted strands onto reels for ship-ping, storing, or ft therprocessing. More recently a pranice been grownrg in industry of storingand shipping elongated strand in concentric-walled drums instead ofreels. Such drums may be constructed of fiberboard and will have theadvantages of cheapness and light weight compared to reels capable ofholding an equal amount of strand. It has also been found that wire canbe removed from drums at very high speed without any or" the problems ofinertia and braking that re created when heavy reels are rotated at highvelocity. While it has been a simple and convenient mat er to pay offdirectly into concentric-wail drums from such manufacturing oper ons aswire-drawhig and extrusion, in the case of the s....nding operation thetwisted strands have conventionally been taken up on reels. Where it hasbeen desired to ship such trands in concentric-wall drums it has beennecessary to go through a separate operation of removing the strandsfrom the reels and depositing them within the drums. in addition to thecost or a separate operation this procedure had the disadvantage thatsplices or discontin ities in the strands are bound to occur due to thefact that the reels are not the same size as the drums.

l have invented apparatt for twisting t titer a orality of strand ofindefinite le gth and deposn' g said strands directly into a vertical drMy app atus comprises means for supporting the drum, means locatedbeneath the drum for bringing the strands together and means forrevolving the strands around the drum thereby twisting together suchstrands. It also comprises means for continuously advancing the strandsand depositing them within the drum. Preferably the speed of revolvingthe strands around the drum will have a functional relation to the speedof advancement of the strands. My apparatus may include rotating meansabove the drum for guiding the strand in an approximately circular pathbetween the partition and the wall of the drum and concentric thereto,and means for maintaining the drum and its support stationary withrespect to rotation. My apparatus will preferably include a verticalframe encompassing a drum and its supporting means and means forrotating said frame on a vertical axis, a first guide means mountedcentrally on the frame erzeath the drum and receivin and guiding thestrands onto the frame, a second guide means mounted centrally on theframe above the drum and supporting means associated with the framedirecting the strands from the first to the second of said guide means.in one embodiment of my invention the axis of rotation of frame iseccentric to the axis of the drum and there are means tor guiding thestrands into the drum in the form of loops eccentric to the axis of thedrum.

l have invented a method of simultaneously twisting and packagingstrands of indefinite lengths into a verically mounted drum. My methodcompr es the steps of continuously bringing together the strands to betwisted at a point beneath the drum, revolving the strands on a verticalaxis around the drum, continuously advancing the strands to a pointabove the drum, and continuously lowering the twisted strands in theform of loops into the drum.

A full and complete understanding of my invention maybe obtained from astudy of the drawing.

in the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of my invention partlysectionalized and with some elements omitted for clarity.

2 is a partially sectionalized front elevation of the embodiment of myinvention shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partially sectionalized elevation of another embodiment ofmy invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 a twinner it? is mounted in a framework 11with upright members l2, 13, l4, l5 and horizontal braces lo, l7, 13,it? at the top, additional horizontal braces 21, 22, 23, 24 above themiddle height of the upright members and still additional horizontalbraces 2s, 27, 2t near the bottom of the frame. Two l beams 31, 32fixedly mounted across the braces 17 and 19 support a spindle block 33which terminates in a stub shaft 35. At the bottom of the frame anotherpair of L beams 37, 33 supported on the braces 27, 29, support, in turn,a heavy thrust bearing 39 around which is sweated a toothed gear 4-1.Mounted in the thrust bearing 39 by means of a hollow vertical shaftwith a collar 43 is a rotating dyer indicated generally at The flyer iscomprised of vertical members as, 47 connected through an upperhorizontal beam 48 comprised of two channels and 43b and a lover beam 49comprised of two channels and The fiyer 44- is rotatably driven by meansof a sprocket 551 on the hollow shaft :2 and a chain 52 which is, inturn, driven by a motor and sprocket not shown. A fiber drum 53 with aconcentric core is mounted in my apparatus for receiving a twistedstrand as. Although it is advantageous to use a drum 53 made fromfiberboard it will be readily understood that metal pails may also beused. 1 do not intend to limit my apparatus to any particular container.The drum 53 fits into an open steel barrel 57 supported on a stub shaft53 in a thrust bearing 59 on the beam 49 of the flyer A toothed gearconcentric to the shaft 55 is welded to the bottom of the barrel 5?. Thegear 61 meshes with a gear 62 attached to a shaft 63 that passes throughthe beam 49. The lower end of the shaft 63 is fitted with a gear 64which meshes with the stationary gear 41. The ratios of the gears 62 6?.are the same as the gear ratio with the result that the barrel 57 andthe drum 53 remain stationary relative to the framework 31 regardless ofthe rotation of the flyer it will be understood that, although this e-.bodiment of my invention i prefer to hold the drum 53 stationary myinvention is not lim ted to this mode of operation and any degree ofrelative motion desired can be given to the drum 53 relative to theframework 11 by changing either or both of the gear ratios 2- er ando4dl in a well-known manner.

The twisted strand 5:; is shown to be made up of two separate wires 65and 66 fed from separate outside sources, not shown, over sheaves or, asthrough a constricted opening 69. When the wires 65, 66 come together atthe constriction as they are twisted around each other once for eachrotation of the tiyer it will be understood that although I have shownjust the two wires as, so my apparatus will work equally well for agreater number of wires brought together at the constri tion 69. Havingreceived one twist for each rotation of the flyer dd at a point beneaththe center of rotation of the said fiyer the twisted strand passes oversheaves '71, 72; mounted on the beam :9, upwardly through a tube 73which prevents undue ballooning of the strand, onto sheaves T 4, 75which are mounted on the beam 4-8. The sheave '71 is located to receivethe strand as at the center of rotation of the fiyer 44 and the sheave75 is located to deliver the strand 56 at the center of rotation of thefiyer 44. The strand 56 is urged forward by a pair of cooperating bells7677 which constitute a capstan mounted in a frame 78 rigidly attachedto the barrel 57. In progressing from the sheave 75 to the capstan 7677the strand 56 passes through a hollow spindle 79 attached to the beam 43and rotating in a bearing 81 on the frame 78. Since the sheave 75 isrotating a.ong with the fiyer 44 relative to the framework 11 Whereasthe capstan 76--77 does not rotate on a vertical axis, in passing fromthe sheave 75 to the capstan 7677 the strand 56 receives an additionaltwist for each rotation of the fiyer 44, thus the strand receives adouble twist for each rotation of the fiyer, one on entering theconstriction 42 and the other on entering the capstan 7677. The capstan7677 passes the strand 56 through a guide tube 82 mounted in a bearing83. The spindle 79 has sweated onto it a toothed gear 84 which rotateswith the fiyer 44. The gear 84 meshes with a gear 85 on a vertical shaft86 through the frame 78. Mounted on the shaft 36 is a bevel gear 87which serves to drive the capstan 76-77 through a matching bevel gear 88and a pair of spur gears 899ti. Also mounted on the shaft 86 is a pulley91 which drives the guide tube 82 through a belt 92 and a pulley 93. Bymeans of the apparatus hereinabove described two or more wires can befed from stationary pay-olf stations through guide means such as thesheaves 67, 68 and a twisted strand will be deposited in the drum 53without any intermediate operation of reeling and mounting the reels ina strander. Moreover, because of the double twist imparted by my machinethe speed of operation is doubled. Or, to look at it another way, if thespeed is determined by the speed with which it is safe to rotate a framehaving the dimensions of the fiyer 44, the amount of strand deliveredper unit time into the drum 53 will be twice the amount that could bedelivered by a machine which imparted only a single twist.

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention of FIG. 4, the strandingand packaging apparatus indicated generally at 100 is mounted in a frame101 having upright members 102, an upper horizontal plate 106 reinforcedby braces 167 and a lower platform 108 reinforced by braces 109. Theplatform 108 rigidly supports a heavy mounting 111 within which a thrustbearing 112 rotatably supports a hollow vertical shaft 113 to which isrigidly fastened a flyer 114. Rotatably mounted at the top of the shaft113 by means of a heavy thrust bearing 117 is a circular table 118 theouter rim of which is toothed in the form of a gear. The toothed table118 meshes with a gear 119 on a shaft 12%) passing through the fiyer 114and supporting a gear 121 which meshes with a sun gear 122, rigidlyattached to the mounting 111. I prefer to have the number of teeth inthe gear 118 equal the teeth in the gear 122 and the teeth in the gear119 equal the teeth in the gear 121 whereby the table 118 will remainstationary relative to the mounting 111. Mounted eccentrically on thetable 118 by means of a thrust bearing 123 is a stub shaft 124projecting from the center of a platform 126 supporting the fiber drum53. The stub shaft 124 is keyed to a gear 127 which meshes to aninternally toothed gear 128 concentric to the platform 118 and rotatingthereon. The gear 123 also has external teeth that mesh with a gear 129on a shaft 136 passing through the flyer 114 and terminating in anothergear 131. The gear 131 meshes in turn with a gear 132 on a hollow shaft133 over the shaft 113 and rigidly connected to a pulley 134 connectedby means of drive belts not shown to an outside power source also notshown. By means of the outside source of power and the pulley 134, shaft133, gears 132, 131, shaft 130, and gears 129, 128, 127 the platform 126and drum 53 can be made to rotate at any desired speed. This speed willnormally be slow compared to the rotation of the flyer 114. The fiyer114 which we have seen to be supported by the bearing 112 at the bottomon the shaft 113 is rigidly attached at the top to a hollow shaft 136journalled in a bearing 137 in the plate 106. A pulley 138 is keyed tothe shaft 136 whereby the shaft 136, llyer 114, and shaft 113 can berotated at any desired speed by means of belts and an external motor notshown. Rigidly mounted on the plate 106 is a sun gear 139 concentric tothe shaft 136. The gear 139 meshes with a gear on a shaft 141 whichpasses through the frame of the flyer 114 and terminates in a gear 142meshing with the external teeth of a gear 143 rotatably mounted on theshaft 136 by means of a bearing 144. The gear 143 is also internallytoothed at 145 to mesh with two gears 146, 147 connected respectivelythrough shafts 143, 149 to grooved pulleys 1511, 151. The shafts 148,149 pass through a plate 152 rotatably mounted on the shaft 136 by meansof a bearing 153. The plate 152 is circular and has external teeth thatmesh with a gear 154 on a shaft 155 which passes through the frame ofthe fiyer 114 and terminates in another gear 156. The gear 156 mesheswith a gear 157, mounted on a hollow shaft 158 rigidly connected to apulley 159. By means of bearings 160, 161, 162 the assembly 157, 153,159 is free to rotate between the shaft 136 and the plate 196. Thepulley 159 is connected by means of belts, not shown, to an externalmotor also not shown. By turning the pulley 159 the two grooved pulleys151 15-1 are driven at any desired speed by reason of the rotation ofthe plate 152 turning the gears 146, 147 against the stationary internalgear 145. I have shown two wires 163, 164 being fed into my apparatusover pulleys 165, but it will be understood that my invention is notlimited to two. The wires 163, 164 pass through a guide 166 held in themounting 111 where they are brought together and twisted into a strand167 by reason of the rotation of a pulley 168 internally attached to therotating hollow shaft 113. From the pulley 168 the twisted strand passesthrough an aperture 169 in the shaft 113 over sheaves 170, 171 on thefiyer 114, through an aperture 172 in the shaft 136 over an internallymounted pulley 173 to another pulley 174 directly beneath it. The pulley174 is mounted by means of a bracket 175 to the toothed plate 152 whichis driven by the gear 154. Between the pulleys 173 and 174 the strandwill be given a further twist due to the fact that the flyer 114 andshaft 136 carrying the pulley 173 are rotating much faster than theplate 152. Leaving the pulley 174 the strand passes in multiple turnsaround the pulleys 150, 151 which serve as a capstan to advance thewires through the apparatus into the drum 53. The direction of rotationof the pulleys 150, 151 is opposite to that of the plate 152 which hasthe effect of reducing the speed of the strand 167 relative to the drum53. A spring finger 176 mounted on the plate 152 by means of a bracket177 holds the strand 167 in the lowermost groove of the pulley 150 undera gentle pressure. From the finger 176 the strand 167 drops directlyinto the drum 53. I prefer that the average speed of advancement of thestrand 167 shall equal the linear speed of rotation of a point betweenthe core 54 and the outer wall of the drum 53 such that if a circle weredrawn through the said point concentric to the core the area of thespace between the core 54 and said circle would equal the area of thespace between said circle and the outer wall of the drum 53. Since theplate 152 and grooved pulleys 156, 151 rotate around the center of theshaft 136 which is eccentric to the center of the platform 126 and tothe vertical axis of the drum 53 the strand leaving the finger 176 willfall in eccentric loops.

The lay of the twist imparted to the wires 164, to form the strand 167is determined by the ratio between the speeds of the pulleys 138 and159. I prefer to maintain the speed of the pulley 138 thus the speed ofthe fiyer 114 at a constant high speed, to select the speed of thepulley 159 so as to give the desired number of twists per inch to thestrand, and to select the speed of the pulley 134 so as to rotate thedrum 53 at a speed commensurate with the speed of the strand 167 ashereinbefore described.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for twisting together a plurality of strands of indefinitelength and depositing said strands directly into a vertical drum,comprising means for supporting said drum, means located beneath saiddrum for bringing together said strands, means for revolving saidstrands around said drum, thereby twisting together said strands, andmeans for continuously advancing said strands and depositing saidstrands within said drum.

2. Apparatus for twisting together a plurality of strands of indefinitelength and depositing said strands directly into a vertical drum,comprising means for supporting and rotating said drum, means forbringing together said strands at a point beneath said drum, means forcontinuously advancing said strands, means for revolving said strandsaround said drum and said supporting means thereby twisting togethersaid strands at a speed having a functional relation to the speed ofadvancement of said strands, rotating guide means for depositing saidstrands in said drum.

3. Apparatus for twisting together a plurality of strands of indefinitelength and depositing said strands directly into a vertical drum,comprising means for supporting said drum, means for bringing togethersaid strands at a point beneath said drum, means for revolving saidstrands around said drum and said supporting means thereby twistingtogether said strands, rotating means above said drum for guiding saidstrands in an approximately circular path witin said drum and concentricthereto, and means for advancing said strands at a speed functionallyrelated to the speed of revolution of said strands.

4. Apparatus for twisting together a plurality of strands of indefinitelength and depositing said strands directly into a vertical drum,comprising means for supporting said drum, means located beneath saiddrum for bringing together said strands at a point beneath said drum,means for revolving said strands around said drum and said supportingmeans thereby twisting together said strands, means for maintaining saidsupporting means and said drum stationary with respect to rotation,means above said drum for guiding said strands in an approximatelycircular path within said drum and concentric thereto, and means foradvancing said strands.

5. Apparatus for twisting together a plurality of strands of indefinitelength and depositing said strands directly into a Vertical drum,comprising means for supporting said drum, a vertical frame encompassingsaid supporting means and said drum, means for rotating said frame on avertical axis, a first sheave mounted centrally on said frame beneathsaid drum, said sheave receiving and guiding said strands onto saidframe, a second sheave mounted centrally on said frame above said drum,means associ ated with said frame guiding said strands from said firstsheave to said second sheave, and means for advancing said strands intosaid drum.

6. Apparatus for twisting together a plurality of strands of indefinitelength and depositing said strands directly into a vertical drum havingan external vertical wall and an internal vertical partitionsubstantially concentric to said wall, comprising means for supportingsaid drum, a vertical frame encompassing said platform and said drum,means for rotating said frame on an axis of rotation eccentric to theaxis of said drum, a first sheave mounted centrally on said framebeneath said drum, said sheave receiving and guiding said strands ontosaid frame, a second sheave mounted centrally on said frame above saiddrum, means associated with said frame guiding said strands from saidfirst sheave to said second sheave, means for advancing said strands ata speed proportional to the speed of rotation of said frame, and meansfor guiding said strands into the space between said partition and saidwall in the form of loops eccentric to said partition.

7. Apparatus for twisting together a plurality of strands of indefinitelength and depositing said strands directly into a vertical drum,comprising a platform supporting said drum, means for rotating saidplatform and said drum, a vertical frame encompassing said platform andsaid drum, means for rotating said frame on an axis of rotationeccentric to the axis of rotation of said platform, a first sheavemounted centrally on said frame beneath said drum, said sheave receivingand guiding said strands onto said frame, a second sheave mountedcentrally on said frame above said drum, means associated with saidframe guiding said strands from said first sheave to said second sheave,means for advancing said strands at a speed proportional to the speed ofrotation of said frame,

' and means for guiding said strands into said drum.

8. The method of simultaneously twisting and packaging a plurality ofstrands of indefinite length into a vertically mounted drum comprisingthe steps of continuously bringing together said strands at a pointbeneath said drurn, revolving said strands on a vertical axis aroundsaid drum, continuously advancing said strands to a point above saiddrum and continuously lowering said twisted strands in the form of loopsinto said drum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS723,178 Norman Mar. 17, 1903 1,219,314 Hubbard Mar. 13, 1917 2,936,509Martin May 17, 1960

1. APPARATUS FOR TWISTING TOGETHER A PLURALITY OF STRANDS OF INDEFINITELENGTH AND DEPOSITING SAID STRANDS DIRECTLY INTO A VERTICAL DRUM,COMPRISING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID DRUM, MEANS LOCATED BENEATH SAIDDRUM FOR BRINGING TOGETHER SAID STRANDS, MEANS FOR REVOLVING SAIDSTRANDS AROUND SAID DRUM, THEREBY TWISTING TOGETHER SAID STRANDS, ANDMEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY ADVANCING SAID STRANDS AND DEPOSITING SAIDSTRANDS WITHIN SAID DRUM.